County urges TB testing for faculty, 35 students at University of Phoenix

SAN DIEGO - County health officials are urging seven faculty
members and 35 students at the University of Phoenix in Serra Mesa
to get tested for tuberculosis after a student at the school was
recently diagnosed with the disease.

The student, who attended a Monday evening class held in
Classroom 9 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., may have been infectious from
Feb. 26 though May 21, possibly exposing others to TB, health
officials said.

The strain, however, was not the potentially deadly, highly
drug- resistant kind that made news in recent days because of an
infected airline traveler who exposed hundreds of fellow passengers
during a pair of trans- Atlantic flights.

Testing for students and faculty who had regular contact with
the infected student will be offered on the Murphy Canyon Road
campus next week, health officials said.

The risk of fellow students actually contracting TB is low, but
authorities are erring on the side of caution, said Dr. Wilma
Wooten, Interim County Deputy Public Health Officer.

In 2006, there were 315 total cases of TB in San Diego
County.

Symptoms of active TB include persistent cough, fever, night
sweats and unexplained weight loss. Most people who are exposed to
TB do not develop the disease, according to health officials.

Tuberculosis is spread through the air from one person to
another by bacteria that enter through the lungs.

For more information, individuals may call the County TB Control
Program at (619) 692-8621.